Next week is Holy Week and we are preparing our hearts for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I hope you find my post something to ponder about, much like we have heard these women did.  

I found it difficult to figure out who to write about.  There are three Mary’s who were at the cross of Jesus and each come from a different background.  

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was called “favored”; her heart was already in tune with God when the angel visited.  It was arranged for her to be married to Joseph.  Joseph had four visits from the angel of God, which shows how favored he was as well.  This Mary was young, in terms of age, possibly 12-14 years old when she had her first encounter with Jesus.  Throughout her lifetime, she had numerous encounters with our Lord, yet it did not make believing any easier.  

Mary, Mary’s older sister, followed Jesus as she discovered who He was in the early stages of his ministry in their small village.  She may never have followed Him, had she not been associated with Him through family ties.

Mary, of Magdela, was hurt, broken and empty when she bumped into Jesus.  She was healed by Him in radical ways.  We read about what the seven demons may have been here.  But this Mary was capable of using her financial stability to support Jesus’ ministry.  This enabled her to hear His message and follow Him in ways His own mother and aunt may not have been able to.

These three Mary’s were normal, every-day kind of women, just like you and I.   I have shared this link a couple of times recently because it explains how the role of women changed from Old Testament times until the times of Jesus.  Jesus’ relationship with women was so counter-cultural, we see how it opened the doors for the Good News to spread through women.

We are sharing a bit about these women this week before Holy Week, to help us prepare our hearts for Resurrection Sunday.  These days ahead are difficult for me, because, if I’m honest, I don’t always resemble what I claim to be.  A Christian.  And this journey called life, has many challenges, and unless we are not at the foot of the cross, being covered by His blood, on a daily basis, we are probably pushing and shoving to sit right next to Him.

There’s the book called “The Calvary Road”, which I like to read during Lent because it helps me examine myself.  “Lent is the Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter. In Western churches, it begins on Ash Wednesday. During Lent, many Christians observe a period of fasting, repentance, moderation, self-denial, and spiritual discipline. The purpose of the Lenten season is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial, and resurrection.”  (What is Lent).  What I have found is that we can do it all wrong and “The Calvary Road” helps me to navigate through this season with my eyes on Jesus and not myself.  (I can’t help but hear Toby Keith’s song, “What I like about me”)

I digress.  

I had this passage on my refrigerator because I struggle, and I don’t always love as I have been loved.  We need to learn to call sin, what it is -- sin --, and go with it to the cross and trust the Lord Jesus to cleanse us from it.  We can be quick see the speck in each other’s eye and not the beam in our own.  We seem to have a distorted view of someone’s wrong and it disables us from seeing them as they truly are - Beloved of God!

I used to have a picture similar to this on my desk at work to help me remember that I am first and foremost, a bondservant to Christ.  I need to reflect Him, and no one else.  Do you remember the story in Luke 17:7-10 where the servant had all kinds of things stacked one on top of the other, and yet he did it all, expecting nothing else?  How quickly do we spit and sputter at the thought of doing something else?  AND not getting thanked for it!  But also remember - we cannot boast for all these things we just did!  Self-denial can be hard!  Besides, if we are honest with ourselves, none of what we have is ours - it’s all a gift from God!

There’s power in the blood of the lamb.  “And through him, God reconciled everything to Himself.  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”  (Colossians 1:20 NLT)  Jesus is the lamb; meek and lowly in heart, gentle and unresisting, and all the time surrendering His own will to the Father’s (Matt 11:29; John 6:38).  Can you see the humility and self-surrender of the lamb?  This is the disposition that gives the Blood it’s power with God.   “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds[a] so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”  (Hebrews 9:14)

It’s humility, lamb-likeness, the surrender of our wills to God, that God is looking for in us.  Are you willing?  To let go of standing up for yourself and resisting making comments to others?  All those trivial matters?

In the last chapter of The Calvary Road, the author helps us see just how easy it is to be self-righteous.  In Luke 18:9-14 we are reminded of the Pharisee’s attitude, however, what about when we read that story and think to ourselves how lucky we are that we aren’t like the Pharisee?  Jesus says, “From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:20-23) “The simple truth is that the only beautiful thing about the Christian is Jesus Christ.  God wants us to recognize that fact as true in our experience, so that in true brokenness and self-despair we shall allow Jesus Christ to be our righteousness and holiness and all in all - and that is victory.”

I cannot help but think of Mary the mother of Jesus, and recall all the people she bumped into along her journey .  There were those who prophesied.   She heard Joseph teach young Jesus from scripture.   And the fact that at such a young age she was chosen to carry the baby Jesus into the world, and yet there were times Jesus told her to wait (John 2:1-12).  What about the times she must have felt ignored and unknown by her son (Matthew 12:48).  But we see her come to Jesus at the foot of the cross, to be washed in His blood and cleansed of her own sin.  Are you willing to sit at the foot of the cross?

The other Mary’s too had to be humble enough to meet Jesus at the cross.  None of what happened to them - their spiritual awakening, had anything to do with themselves.  It’s all about Jesus.  

He humbled Himself to the manger,

And even to Calvary’s tree;

But I am so proud and unwilling, 

His humble disciple to be.

He yielded His will to the Father,

And chose to abide in the Light;

But I prefer wrestling to resting, 

And try by myself to do right.

Lord break me, then cleanse me and fill me

And keep me abiding in Thee;

That fellowship may be unbroken,

And Thy Name be hallowed in me.

(from The Calvary Road)

Blessings for a reflective Holy Week,

Lisa